HEXAGRAM 52: ORIGINAL, INTERPRETATION AND CASES

HEXAGRAM 52 – Ken - Keeping Still, Mountain

Above KEN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN

Below KEN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN

The image of this hexagram is the mountain,

the youngest son of

· heaven and

· earth.

The male principle is at the top,

· because it strives upward by nature;

the female principle is below,

· since the direction of its movement is downward.

Thus

there is rest

· because the movement has come to its normal end.

In its application to man, the hexagram turns upon

the problem of achieving a quiet heart.

It is very difficult to bring quiet to the heart.

While Buddhism strives for

· rest through an ebbing away of all movement in nirvana,

the Book of Changes holds that

· rest is merely a state of polarity that always posits

movement as its complement.

Possibly the words of the text embody directions for the practice of yoga.

THE JUDGMENT

KEEPING STILL.

Keeping his back still

So that he no longer feels his body.

· goes into his courtyard And

· does not see his people.

No blame.

True quiet means

· keeping still when the time has come to keep still, and

· going forward when the time has come to go forward.

In this way

· rest and movement are in agreement with the demands of the time,

and thus

· there is light in life.

The hexagram signifies the end and the beginning of all movement.

The back is named because in the back are located

all the nerve fibers that mediate movement.

· the movement of those spinal nerves is brought to a standstill,

· the ego, with its restlessness, disappears as it were.

When

a man has thus become calm,

he may turn to the outside world.

· He no longer sees in it the struggle and tumult of individual beings,

and therefore

· he has that true peace of mind which is needed

o for understanding the great laws of the universe and

o for action, in harmony with them.

Whoever

· acts from these deep levels

· makes no mistakes.

THE IMAGE

Mountains standing close together: The image of KEEPING STILL.

Thus the superior man

Does not permit his thoughts To go beyond his situation.

1The heart thinks constantly.

This cannot be changed,

but the movements of the heart - that is,

a man's thoughts –

should restrict themselves to the immediate situation.

All thinking that goes beyond this only makes the heart sore.

THE LINES

Six at the beginning means:

Keeping his toes still.

No blame.

Continued perseverance furthers.

Keeping the toes still means halting before one has even begun to move.

The beginning is the time of few mistakes.

At that time

one is still in harmony with primal innocence.

Not yet influenced by obscuring interests and desires,

one sees things intuitively as they really are.

A man who halts at the beginning,

so long as he has not yet abandoned truth,

finds the right way.

But

persisting firmness is needed to keep one from drifting irresolutely.

Six in the second place means:

Keeping his calves still.

He cannot rescue him whom he follows.

His heart is not glad.

The leg cannot move independently;

it depends on the movement of the body.

If a leg is suddenly stopped while the whole body is in vigorous motion,

the continuing body movement will make one fall.

The same is true of

a man who serves a master stronger than himself.

· He is swept along,

and even though he may himself halt on the path of wrongdoing,

· he can no longer check the other in his powerful movement.

Where

· the master presses forward,

· the servant, no matter how good his intentions cannot save him.

Nine in the third place means:

Keeping his hips still.

Making his sacrum stiff.

Dangerous.

The heart suffocates.

This refers to enforced quiet.

The restless heart is to be subdued by forcible means.

But fire when it is smothered changes into acrid smoke

that suffocates as it spreads.

Therefore, in exercises in meditation and concentration,

one

· ought not to try to force results.

Rather,

· calmness must develop naturally out of a state of inner composure.

· one tries to induce calmness by means of artificial rigidity,

· meditation will lead to very unwholesome results.

Six in the fourth place means:

Keeping his trunk still.

No blame.

As has been pointed out above in the comment on the Judgment,

keeping the back at rest means forgetting the ego.

This is the highest stage of rest.

Here

this stage has not yet been reached:

the individual in this instance,

though able to keep the ego, with its thoughts and impulses, in a state of rest,

is not yet quite liberated from its dominance.

Nonetheless,

keeping the heart at rest

is an important function,

leading in the end to the complete elimination of egotistic drives.

Even though at this point

one does not yet remain free from all the dangers of doubt and unrest,

this frame of mind is not a mistake,

as it leads ultimately to that other, higher level.

Six in the fifth place means:

Keeping his jaws still.

The words have order.

Remorse disappears.

A man in a dangerous situation,

especially when

· is not adequate to it,

· is inclined to be very free with talk and presumptuous jokes.

But injudicious speech easily

leads to situations that subsequently

give much cause for regret.

However, if

a man is reserved in speech,

his words take ever more definite form, and

every occasion for regret vanishes.

Nine at the top means:

Noble hearted keeping still.

Good fortune.

This marks the consummation of the effort to attain tranquility.

· One is at rest, not merely in a small, circumscribed way

o in regard to matters of detail,

but

· one has also a general resignation

o in regard to life as a whole,

and this

confers peace and good fortune in relation to every individual matter.

52 KEEPING STILL / MOUNTAIN

MANAGERIAL ISSUE:

The CEO – managing to “Keeping Still” within (be like the Mountain) so as to develop inner calmness without - knowing when to move and when to stop

Hexagram 52 describes the CEO’s need to develop inner calmness so that he may know when to act when he has to act and when not to act when he does not have to act. In the book Focus, Al Ries mentions that CEOs tend to suffer from the ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Apparently, CEOs cannot stand still for long but rather have to go on buying sprees regardless of a proper business fit. The business world is littered with these mergers, many of which in the end amount to nothing; such was the case of:

· Bob Allen, the CEO of ATT (he is in CNBC’s list of the Worst American CEOs of All Time) who decided to buy out NCR even though there was no compatibility between those two businesses. The end result is always a continuous drainage of resources for the buyer and the inevitable final split between the two companies. The I Ching was against such merger.

· Hospitality, a wonderful corporation, which gave its shareholders, a tremendous value and which lied moribund for so long because its CEO (Henry Silverman) wanted to merge with CUC International to create Cendant. The final merger and the inflating of the revenues by $500 million translated into a $14 billion loss for the shareholders. The I Ching was against such merger.

The Superior CEO knows that part of his success consists in knowing when to move and knowing when to stop. Did the CEO of Conseco know when to stop? Did the CEO of Boston Chicken have to buy Einstein Brothers Bagels? Did the CEO of Gillette have to buy Duracell? Did the CEO of Mossimo had to di”worse”sify into watches, formal wear, perfumes, etc.? Did Carly Fiorina of HP have to buy Compaq?

There are some who believe that a CEO’s buying sprees are partly the result of both the CEO’s ego trips and of the Board of Directors’ tradition of paying the CEOs based on their present performance alone. This practice creates a hidden incentive for the CEO to add more assets and combine more income rather than produce more income with the assets he already has. However, as the effects of a poor business fit accentuate, the CEO is usually not held accountable for his actions but rather is celebrated as having more experience now because of his failures.

MANAGERIAL LESSON:

The Superior CEO:

1) Develops a peaceful state of mind that will allow him to live in the eternal now (the secret of staying focused).

2) Stays focused when he makes his move – knowing when to move and knowing when to stop.

3) Does not permit his thoughts to go beyond his situation. Sometimes a CEO will focus exclusively on the future and neglect the present. While he pursues a future dream, he forgets the previous dream that brought him to the present condition. While he firmly believes in future cash flows based on pie in the sky assumptions, he forgets the actual poor conditions of the corporation he is buying. The CEO, like everyone else, will tend to think the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

The I Ching says:

“When a man has thus become calm, he may turn to the outside world.

He no longer sees in it the struggle and tumult of individual beings, and therefore he has that true peace of mind which is needed for understanding the great laws of the universe and for action, in harmony with them.

Whoever acts from these deep levels makes no mistakes.

Thus the superior man Does not permit his thoughts to go beyond his situation”.

INVESTMENT ADVICE:

For the investor, the Keeping Still represents in general terms an unfavorable Time-Space to invest. After all, few CEOs can Keep Still.

By itself (no lines) the Time-Space points to a turbulent condition followed by eventual success (Shock brings success)

KEEPING STILL.

Keeping his back still

So that he no longer feels his body.

He goes into his courtyard

And does not see his people.

No blame.

True quiet means keeping still when the time has come to keep still, and going forward when the time has come to go forward. In this way rest and movement are in agreement with the demands of the time, and thus there is light in life.

The hexagram signifies the end and the beginning of all movement. The back is named because in the back are located all the nerve fibers that mediate movement. If the movement of those spinal nerves is brought to a standstill, the ego, with its restlessness, disappears as it were. When a man has thus become calm, he may turn to the outside world. He no longer sees in it the struggle and tumult of individual beings, and therefore he has that true peace of mind which is needed for understanding the great laws of the universe and for action, in harmony with them. Whoever acts from these deep levels makes no mistakes.

The lines include only one possibility of good fortune (the sixth place). The rest are a mixture of negative to extremely negative.

The following cases are those of corporations under the Keeping Still Time-Space:

· NII Holdings Inc. NIHD under CEO Steven P. Dussek

(Read at the end of the Hexagram)

THE LINES

SIX IN THE FIRST PLACE

Managerial Issue: The CEO – managing to “Keep Still” (like the Mountain) his ambition so as to develop inner calmness - avoiding going off track and getting back to its original plan.

Managerial Lesson: Be calmed.

Managerial Warning: At the first stage of the Keeping Still Time-Space, the CEO risks deviating from his original objective.

Managerial Advice: The Superior CEO knows that:

· Once he starts a project, his advisors will tempt him to deviate from his original plans, from his original inspiration.

· If he deviates in the beginning he can always go back with little harm done. But this requires a strong willed CEO who will avoid drifting irresolutely.

Investment Advice: Do not invest.

SIX IN THE SECOND PLACE

Managerial Issue: The CEO – managing to “Keep Still” (like the Mountain) his fears so as to develop inner calmness - stopping a project when it is beyond the point of no return.

Managerial Lesson: Be upright.

Managerial Warning: At the second stage of the Keeping Still Time-Space, the CEO risks his career when stopping a poorly conceived but an almost completed project.

Managerial Advice: The Superior CEO knows:

· No one can stop a project when it is beyond the point of no return and expect to survive in his position.

· Once a project reaches the point of no return, few Board of Directors will be willing to stop it.

· The project’s own momentum will turn the CEO into its first victim, even if he is honestly convinced it is the wrong project.

· The Board of Directors will find it much easier to get rid of the CEO than to stop a costly project in its advanced stages.

Investment Advice: Do not invest.

NINE IN THE THIRD PLACE

Managerial Issue: The CEO – managing to “Keep Still” (like the Mountain) his mind so as to develop inner calmness - stopping a project suddenly and the hard way.

Managerial Lesson: Be temperate.

Managerial Warning: At the third stage of the Keeping Still Time-Space, the CEO faces the worse from a sudden stopping.

Managerial Advice: The Superior CEO knows:

· A sudden stop creates opposition, which in turn creates gossiping and is followed by the inevitable conspiracies.

· Abrupt changes are always dangerous.

· Only a deep search for the inner truth will provide him the gentle persuasion required to achieve a gradual slowdown.

Investment Advice: Do not invest.

SIX IN THE FOURTH PLACE

Managerial Issue: The CEO – managing to “Keep Still” (like the Mountain) his ego so as to develop inner calmness – finding his inner truth to better decide on continuing or stopping a project.

Managerial Lesson: Be humble.

Managerial Warning: At the fourth stage of the Keeping Still Time-Space, the CEO finds he must forget his ego to achieve the proper inner calmness. However, no one can get rid of his ego, especially CEOs whose egos tend to be very large and who tend to surround themselves with yes men.

Managerial Advice: The Superior CEO knows:

· Any effort to humble his ego, will lead him to the proper execution of the project as it should be and not as his ego tells him to do it.

· The very effort to humble his ego puts the CEO on the road to his enlightenment.

Investment Advice: Do not invest.

SIX IN THE FIFTH PLACE

Managerial Issue: The CEO – managing to “Keep Still” (like the Mountain) his mouth so as to develop inner calmness – shutting up to find his inner truth and decide to continue or stop a project

Managerial Lesson: Be quiet.

Managerial Warning: At the fifth stage of the Keeping Still Time-Space, the CEO risks talking too much when facing danger.

Managerial Advice: The Superior CEO knows:

· It is very common for CEOs, especially the least capable ones to shoot off their mouths.

· Nothing could be more damaging to a project or even to a corporation than a CEO who cannot Keep Still his mouth.

· He must measure his words and in turn his actions will always come out all right - “let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, my Lord and God”.

Investment Advice: Do not invest. Look for a better investment.

NINE IN THE SIXTH PLACE

Managerial Issue: The CEO – managing to “Keep Still” (like the Mountain) his pride so as to develop inner calmness - beyond knowing when to stop and when to move on a project.

Managerial Lesson: Be self-denying.

Managerial Warning: At the sixth stage of the Keeping Still Time-Space, the CEO has the opportunity to attain real wisdom.

Managerial Advice: The Superior CEO knows once he masters the art of moving and stopping at the right moment, then he is well on his way to mastering the art of self-denial which will eventually place the CEO on his way to true enlightenment.

Investment Advice: Invest.

MANAGERIAL CASES

NII Holdings Inc. NIHD under CEO Steven P. Dussek

Steven Dussek’s Performance: ROI= (34.67%) Annualized Return= (10.98%)

SPY’s Performance: ROI= (14.97%) Annualized Return= ( 4.33%)

Steven P. Dussek has been CEO of NII Holdings February of 2008. Since then, his performance has been worse than the SPY’s.

· The Hexagram warned the CEO to KEEP STILL

Mountains standing close together: The image of KEEPING STILL.

Thus the superior man

Does not permit his thoughts

To go beyond his situation.

Even though the Hexagram warned him to keep still, what does he do? Read and weep shareholders:

“NII Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: NIHD), a differentiated provider of mobile communication services operating under the Nextel brand in Latin America, today announced the launch of a new brand identity across the region, which includes a new logo, tagline and graphic design. The new logo will unify the brand identity and enhance brand recognition across all five of the company's markets and is designed to appeal to NII's current customers while attracting new customers in support of the company's growth strategy.”

Points the investor should consider:

1) THE HEXAGRAM

HEXAGRAM 52 – Ken - Keeping Still, Mountain

The image of this hexagram is the mountain, the youngest son of heaven and earth. The male principle is at the top, because it strives upward by nature; the female principle is below, since the direction of its movement is downward. Thus there is rest because the movement has come to its normal end.

In its application to man, the hexagram turns upon the problem of achieving a quiet heart. It is very difficult to bring quiet to the heart. While Buddhism strives for rest through an ebbing away of all movement in nirvana, the Book of Changes holds that rest is merely a state of polarity that always posits movement as its complement. Possibly the words of the text embody directions for the practice of yoga.

THE JUDGMENT

KEEPING STILL.

Keeping his back still

So that he no longer feels his body.

He goes into his courtyard

And does not see his people.

No blame.

2) THE ADVICE

Mountains standing close together: The image of KEEPING STILL.

Thus the superior man

Does not permit his thoughts

To go beyond his situation.

1The heart thinks constantly. This cannot be changed, but the movements of the heart - that is, a man's thoughts - should restrict themselves to the immediate situation. All thinking that goes beyond this only makes the heart sore.

3) THE LINES:

There are no moving lines.

4) THE MOVING HEXAGRAM

There is no moving Hexagram because there are no moving lines. The focusing point is the Judgment.

THE JUDGMENT

KEEPING STILL.

Keeping his back still

So that he no longer feels his body.

He goes into his courtyard

And does not see his people.

No blame.